


(To the Ends of The Earth) Will You Follow Me?

by Midnightminx90



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Camping, F/M, Road Trips, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:48:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29253207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midnightminx90/pseuds/Midnightminx90
Summary: “Want some company?” Grog asks, and Keyleth’s taken aback.“What?”“Listen, I can’t just let you go off on your own, okay? And, like, I’ve been thinkin’ of going away too and we can just do it together, right? It’ll be safer that way. So I’ll ask again; where to?”“Anywhere but here.”---Keyleth needs a break from... everything. Having mutually ended things with Vax because they drifted apart, and she saw the way he looks at Shaun. Having witnessed Vex and Percy fall in love. Having seen the slow, long-building feelings between Scanlan and Pike finally manifest... She is tired.So when Grog catches her leaving without a plan or goal, Keyleth accepts his offer of company, and the pair of friends set out on a road trip with no goal in mind but to get away from their love-struck friends and find some peace for themselves.There is a whole world out there, ready to be explored, and while what they need has always been right in front of them, it will take a change of scenery and some bonding through good and bad days to make them open their eyes to the possibilities
Relationships: Keyleth/Grog Strongjaw
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a plan for quite a while now, and for a long time I had the first couple paragraphs sitting in a google doc, waiting for inspiration to strike. Then I added Grog's bit. Then a bit more. Then I just churned out the last 1200 words just now in one sitting.
> 
> I hope to write longer chapters going foward, but we'll see how it goes
> 
> [WIP Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0rzgne3zrkLNLb1Kd42e1F?si=XiawtPo5SDK-YnU_dHA8JA)

She needs to get away. It’s all too much. She wants her friends to be happy but she’s not in the right state of mind to be happy for them. Not right now. She needs distance. Perspective. Time away from it all.   
  
Keyleth packs a bag, filling it only with the necessary items, not bothering to fold them, tossing it all in and zipping it up.   
  
She needs to get away now, before anyone sees her.    
  
Glancing at her plants, Keyleth bites her lip. Hesitates for a moment. She doesn’t know where she’s going, or for how long. They’ll be dead long before she gets back though. She can’t tell anyone, not even Vex, because she’ll only try to talk her out of leaving.    
  
She grabs her keys, locks the door and heads for the bus station.   
  
\---   
  
Grog’s on his way home from the store, having picked up steaks for dinner. He’s always had a large appetite, and so it seems he’s bought enough for at least three, but they’re all for him. Yet another dinner alone. Although it is better than eating with Pike and Scanlan and witnessing them being in love.   
  
It’s not like he’s not happy for them, because he is. But they’re his best friend and his sister, and there are things an older brother does not want to know. Or see.   
  
So he keeps to himself. Easier that way, even if he gets lonely. At least Pike won’t hassle him into eating veggies and not just meat, so it’s not half bad. It’s a small comfort, but Grog takes what he gets. He can watch something gorey on TV, eat his bloody steaks and drink as much beer as he wants tonight, even though it’s just the middle of the week.   
  
Lost in thought, it takes him a moment to register Keyleth, hurrying somewhere.   
  
Grog pulls up next to her, sticking his head out of the jeep as he calls out her name. He sees her jump, sees her eyes wide and the way she avoids looking at him. She’s stopped walking though, at least.    
  
“You okay Keyleth?” he asks her, noticing she’s not herself.    
  
“Oh. Hi, Grog. I, uh, yeah.”   
  
“Are you going somewhere?” Grog points at her bag.    
  
Keyleth looks surprised, he thinks, based on the way she looks at her bag. As though she’s forgotten it’s there. Then she nods.   
  
“Yeah. For a while.”   
  
“Okay. Want a ride to the station?”    
  
He sees her hesitate for a moment, then gets in.    
  
“Where’re you headed?” he asks.   
  
“I don’t know.” Her whisper is low enough that Grog barely catches it. He wonders if she meant for him to hear it.    
  
Grog reaches out for her, awkwardly patting her shoulder. Keyleth breaks into tears then, and he knows something’s wrong because Keyleth rarely does.   
He stops at the side of the road, unsure of what to say and do to help her.   
  
“I just have to get away, Grog. I can’t stand to look at them. They’re all so  _ happy _ and it’s a good thing but it just makes me so sad you know? It’s  _ suffocating _ .”   
  
_ That _ he knows at least.    
  
“I know,” Grog says, once again cursing himself for not being good with words. “I feel it too.”   
  
\---   
  
Keyleth looks at him, not sure she believes what he just said, but she can see the truth in Grog’s eyes.   
  
“Pike and Scanlan?” she asks, and Grog nods. She smiles, sadly.   
  
“Want some company?” Grog asks, and Keyleth’s taken aback.   
  
“What?”   
  
“Listen, I can’t just let you go off on your own, okay? And, like, I’ve been thinkin’ of going away too and we can just do it together, right? It’ll be safer that way. So I’ll ask again; where to?”   
  
“Anywhere but here.”   
  
“Alright.”   
  
Grog turns the jeep back on the road again, and soon they’re at his place.   
  
“Can I trust you not to drive off while I get some stuff?”   
  
“You know I don’t know how to drive Grog,” she replies.   
  
“Doesn’t answer my question.”   
  
“I promise.”   
  
“Good. I’ll be back soon, promise.”   
  
While waiting for Grog to return, Kiki fiddles with the fabric of her skirt, wondering what Grog’s doing and hoping he’s not calling any of their friends. She doesn’t  _ think _ he’d do it, believes he struggles with this as well, but Keyleth’s too unsure of everything right now to judge her friend properly.   
  
Grog returns not too long after, carrying a bag, and what seems like…   
  
“Camping gear?” she says out loud.   
  
“Yeah. Figured we can’t trust always having a roof over our head. I know you’ve camped a lot and I’ve been on the road a lot.” Grog shrugs. “It’s the safest bet, long as you don’t mind sharin’ a tent. Got a sleeping bag that’s not used yet that you’re welcome to. Was plannin’ on asking Pike but then she got with Scanlan.”   
  
“No, no, that’s… that’s fine, Grog, thank you.”   
  
“Guessing you didn’t bring any food.” It’s a statement, not a question, and so she doesn’t answer. “We’ll hit the store on the way out of town. Lemme just get my cooler, then we’ll be on our way. Figure you wanna be gone sooner rather than later.”   
  
“I don’t want anyone to know, not while they can still do or say something to stop me, sorry, us, from leaving.”   
  
Grog looks at her, and there’s knowledge and understanding there that she didn’t expect.   
  
“I wouldn’t let them stop you.”   
  
“No, I know, Grog, it’s just… you know what they’re like, with their words. Vex and Percy and Scanlan and Pike, how they can talk you into almost anything. I don’t want them to talk me into staying. Not now. I need to get away from them and clear my head. I know you wouldn’t do that.”   
  
“Because I’m not good with words.”   
  
“No, Grog, no, that’s not it! You said it yourself, you get why I want to leave, why I  _ need _ to leave, enough to do this with me. The others, they don’t. Vax does, somewhat, I think. but not the rest. You wouldn’t stop me because you get it, not because of words, okay? Trust me on this.”   
  
“If you say so, Kiki.”   
  
She smiles at him.   
  
“You sure you don’t want me to help you carry anything?”   
  
“Nah, I’m good. You stay here, we’ll leave in a few moments, okay?”   
  
\---   
  
Grog’s mind is running, trying to remember if there’s more he needs to bring than he usually does. He’s got the gear for both of them to sleep in and cook with, but back when he used to do this with Pike, she always brought her own stuff.    
  
He doesn’t know if Kiki would need things he doesn’t have, because even though she’s packed her own things for the trip, he doubts she was planning on sleeping outside.   
  
Deciding it’s better to ask, awkward or not, he grabs his cooler and fills it with what little food there is in his fridge. Setting it by the door, he grabs the bag he keeps with the clothes and items he brings on trips like this, adding some more items in a backpack to be sure.   
  
As a last minute thought, Grog grabs the pillow that’s in his bed, even though he never uses one, and a clean cover for it, figuring Keyleth’s not used to sleeping without one.    
  
The jeep is loaded minutes later, his door locked and Grog sits back down behind the wheel after having moved Keyleth’s stuff to the back and his groceries to the cooler.   
  
“Wanna hit the store in the next town instead? Save us from some gossip?”   
  
Keyleth just looks at him for a moment as he starts the car and he wonders if maybe she changed her mind, not wanting him along anyway or that she’ll stay after all.   
  
“Sure, that would be good, Grog.”   
  
They start driving, and the silence feels heavy even to Grog who is used to and prefers silence.    
  
“I know people say you don’t always get stuff,” Keyleth starts up minutes later, voice barely audible over the sound of the engine, “but I think you see more than they think you’re capable of. I like that about you, that I don’t always know what to expect.”   
  
She doesn’t look at him as she speaks, embarrassed about her words.   
  
“Uh, thank you?”   
  
“I’m not good with words either, you know. I talk too much and too fast and don’t always make sense. I let my feelings rule me and it’s not a good thing. And I know you’re kinda the same and it’s… it’s comforting, in a way. It’s our thing, you know? Me with too many and you with not enough, according to others. Together, that means we’re...”   
  
“...just enough?” Grog finishes, and Keyleth startles.    
  
“Yeah Grog, just enough.”   
  
They don’t talk again until they reach the next town over.   
  
“You coming?” Grog asks her when she doesn’t move after the engine’s turned off.   
  
“I don’t know what to get,” she says, and awkward admission.    
  
“I’ll show you,” Grog says.    
  
\---   
  
“Right. You’ll want food that lasts without needing to be cold for camping trips, but we don’t have to worry too much about that.. Canned goods are the best either way, cause you can eat some of that stuff without having to heat it up, but I got one of those portable camping gas stoves so we can cook whatever we want. Energy bars are good to keep on hand, and nuts and dried fruits. Crackers. Bread goes a long way even with just some butter. Couple big water bottles too.”    
  
Grog watches as Keyleth nods along to his words.   
  
“Sound good. Why don’t you go get that while I get the water?” She begins to walk off, before Grog reaches out to stop her.   
  
“You don’t wanna help pick out the food?”   
  
“You know what you’re doing Grog. I don’t.”   
  
“So? You don’t wanna learn? And you’re gonna eat this too so you gotta pick out what you like, cause I don’t want you going hungry cause you don’t like it.”   
  
“But...”   
  
“Are we in this together or what?”   
  
He watches her take a deep breath and straighten her back.   
  
“Okay, Grog, teach me.”   
  
“That’s my girl!” he says, placing his large hand on her shoulder, squeezing it.   
  
Grog doesn’t notice how she flushes at the words, and Keyleth thanks the stars for it.   
  
\---   
  
As soon as the jeep is loaded with food and water and tea (which he had to talk her into bringing along, as Grog knows Kiki is more of a tea person than a coffee person), he grabs the map he keeps in the glove compartment and fold it out across the hood of the car.   
  
“So, where you wanna go?”   
  
“I don’t know.” Her voice is once again low and uncertain, and Grog doesn’t like it. “Just away.”   
  
“Yeah, so you said. Okay, anywhere you don’t wanna go?”   
  
She points to the map, and Grog takes a moment to recall that’s where the twins’ dad lives. Fine by him, he doesn’t like the bastard anyway.   
  
“Although,” she begins, then pauses again, and Grog curses inwards because he can’t stand her uncertainty, not when he knows how brave she has the potential to be. “I’d like to see my parents again. But not yet.”   
  
“Here,” he says, handing her a green marker. “You go ahead and mark the places you wanna go with that, and then we’ll use the red for where we don’t wanna go.”   
  
“What about you?” she asks. “Don’t you have any place in mind?”   
  
“You see all the blue spots?”   
  
“Yes.”   
  
“Those are the ones I’ve been to. I’ve been to a lot of places, Keyleth, and this is your trip more than mine.”   
  
Keyleth shakes her head at that.   
  
“ _ Our _ trip. We’re in this together, Grog.”    
  
“Until the end.”   
  
“Until the ends of the earth, if that’s what it takes. We’re not stopping until we both agree it’s time to return. If that’s okay with you?”   
  
Grog’s reply is holding out his hand to shake hers, and Keyleth takes it gladly, his large hand warm and comforting and encompassing her own. He’s strong, but it’s a comforting strength, now, at the beginning of… whatever this is.    
  
“Last time I’m asking: where to?”   
  
“Why don’t we see where the road takes us?” she asks in return, and for the first time in too long, Grog sees a light in her eyes and feels the excitement of an adventure build up inside himself.    
  
“Deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write like the two-three first paragraphs when I went to sleep the night before this. And then wrote the rest in basically one sitting, hoping my dad wouldn’t discover me being up until past two in the morning 
> 
> (Bc hi, yes, I was up writing the first chapter until a quarter past two and then I posted this at a quarter past two and three days later I’m posting the next chapter at a quarter past two)
> 
> Just don’t get used to these kind of frequent updates

Grayskull is a former settlement that grew up around Grayskull Keep, a place for trade between the Keep and Emon, and a place for the families of those employed at the Keep to settle down.    
  
These days it can’t really be called a _ town _ , Keyleth thinks, as she looks into the mirror behind her as though she can see the place she lives, even though Grayskull has been out of view since before they approached the shop to get food. It’s close to Emon, and based on the way the capital is growing, she knows the place she calls home will soon just be another part of the city, just another neighbourhood that makes up the sprawling coastal place.    
  
She’s not really left since she moved here, especially not like this.   
  
They’ve had trips to Emon, spending hours there walking around, shopping, going to restaurants, just to change things up a bit. Or going to see her parents in Zephrah. But leaving, especially not knowing when she’ll return? That’s another thing entirely.   
  
Keyleth feels nervous, seeing the familiar landscape disappear behind them, but as the road leads to new places, she feels excitement at the prospect of this adventure start to rise like the hills on the horizon.   
  
“North or east?” Grog asks, and Keyleth startles at the sudden sound, her mind occupied on the world outside.   
  
“North,” she says, fighting the instinct to say east, the road that leads towards her parents and the safety and familiarity of home and childhood.   
  
Safe and familiar isn’t what she’s out here for, not why she agreed to do this with Grog. While a part of her aches for it, for the comfort, another part is warring with it, wanting to see it all, to be grown and independent. Yes, she’s depending on Grog for this, but only because he’s the one who can drive and knows how to survive.   
  
Keyleth herself would have taken in at hotels and inns.   
  
“I used to go camping with my parents when I was a kid,” she offers. “It was nice, but then other things became more important as I grew older and I just… never did it again. It’ll be good though, to do it again, I think. Reconnect with nature, not just my plants, but  _ real _ nature.”   
  
“If you wanna sleep outside, there’s a great place not far from Fort Daxio. Been there a few times with Pike and on my own. Was Wilhand that showed us, not long after I came to live with them.”   
  
“How’s he doing? I guess you miss him; I know I do. We can stop by him if you want to - I’d like to see him again myself. Wilhand’s like family.”   
  
Grog doesn’t answer right away, and it makes her feel like she overstepped.   
  
“I mean, we don’t have to if you don’t want to! I just thought maybe you wanted to see him again, and I wanted you to know I don’t mind, but…”   
  
“It’s fine, Kiki.”   
  
“Are you sure? Cause it doesn’t sound like you’re sure and I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable, or to interfere if you want me to stay out of it...”   
  
“Keyleth.”   
  
“Sorry. Shutting up now.”   
  
“That’s not…” Grog makes a sound that reminds her of a growl. “I don’t want you to do that. Shut up, I mean. You know you don’t have to plan the whole trip right? I thought it was gonna be sponte…? What was the word?”   
  
“Spontaneous.”    
  
“Right. That.”   
  
The silence feels heavy to her after that, so she turns on the radio to cancel it out. Keyleth really doesn’t do well with silence and awkwardness, especially not combinations of the two.   
  
So she focuses on the world outside, on the Seashale Mountains growing to the west and the Cliffkeep Mountains in the distance, at the sun moving across the sky and the change from the outskirts of Emon to their left, to the fields and farms.    
  
When they reach the top of a hill, in the distance, she can spot the outskirts of the Torian Forest to the east. It’s weird, she thinks, to see all these places in the distance with her own eyes, places that have barely existed in name before or in pictures coming alive right outside the window.    
  
They pass through the main street of a place she doesn’t catch the name of, and then the farmland returns.   
  
Keyleth doesn’t know how far away Fort Daxio is, but soon signs show up announcing the distance. Not that it changes anything; she’s never been one to be able to judge how long it takes to travel a certain distance, mostly on account of never having taken any driving lessons or being interested in learning.   
  
Growing up, her mother had a license, because the community was so small and they needed to get into the nearest town to buy food and sell the produce they grew when they had more than they needed.    
  
The camping trips were never more than a day’s walk away, and for the most part Keyleth and her parents would only be away a couple of days before returning.   
  
It all makes the scope and possibilities of this trip seem never ending.    
  
“Here it is,” Grog says a long time later, turning off onto a gravel road that leads towards a lake at the bottom of the mountains. “West part of the Cliffkeep. We got a late start so we shouldn’t drive too much longer ‘case we wanna start early tomorrow so I figured this would be the best place to stop for tonight.”   
  
“It’s beautiful,” Keyleth says.   
  
She steps out of the jeep, watching as the mountains seem to descend into the lake. The sun has begun to set, and will soon disappear behind the mountain range where it curves gently south at the western point.   
  
“One of the best places to watch the stars,” Grog points out as he begins to unload. “Wilhand taught us some of them star pictures. I think Pike remembers them, if you ask her.”    
  
“That’s fine. I’m sure it’s not your thing, but if you want to, I can teach you. My mom taught me, out on our trips. We’d walk away from dad while he tidied up after dinner, and she’d teach me the names of the stars and constellations. The next time, she’d quiz me to see if I remembered, and then she’d teach me new ones.” She turns to look at Grog, a sad smile making her lips tremble and tears sting her eyes, the setting sun creating a halo around her, making her hair glow. “I wonder if she’ll ask me again.”   
  
“You could practice ‘til we get there. I won’t remember, or know if you’re right but I can listen to you say their names.”   
  
“Sure, I’d like that a lot.” She shakes her head, then walks up to him. “So, where do we set up?”   
  
“If you wanna learn, tell me where you think is best,” Grog counters, handing over the sleeping bags and picking up the tent. “Lead the way, and we’ll see.”   
  
Keyleth looks around, trying to remember what her parents taught her all those years ago.    
  
Not too close to the water, because you don’t want to get wet, but close so you have something to drink. Ideally sheltered from wind. Check for tracks to determine if there might be predators. Hang the food from a tree if there are bears, so they don’t steal it. Find a place that’s flat, with room for a bonfire.    
  
“Here,” she says, putting the sleeping bags down by a fallen tree partly surrounded by bushes. “It’s close but not too close to the water and it looks like someone’s pitched a tent here before since the grass is flat and it looks like some coals on the ground there, maybe from a disposable grill?”   
  
Grog grins at her, and Keyleth feels warmth from it.   
  
“Lemme just set this up, then we’ll get dinner started.”   
  
“Need help, or should I just carry the rest of the stuff?”   
  
“I’ve done it alone before,” Grog says, starting to remove the tent and poles from the bag.   
  
“Doesn’t mean it’s not easier with help. Besides, I thought you were going to teach me about this stuff? I figured that included pitching a tent.”   
  
“Okay,” Grog says.   
  
They get to work, Keyleth fearing she makes the process longer and more complicated from never having done it before, having Grog come over to help her, his large hands covering hers. She can’t remember ever having been this aware of his presence before, but then they’ve never actually been just the two of them that much.    
  
It’ll be hard to get used to, she knows this, to have someone there at all times, and all she needs to do to touch Grog is to reach out.   
  
Once the tent is pitched, they step back to check that it’s properly secured.   
  
“Are you sure we’ll both fit in there?” Keyleth asks, head tilted to the side as she crosses her arms. “I know I’m thin, but…”   
  
“I don’t mind sleeping outside if you think it won’t work,” Grog answers. “Doesn’t feel like it’s gonna get cold tonight.”   
  
“What? No, I can’t just throw you out of your own tent!  _ I _ should be the one sleeping outside.”   
  
“Pike taught me never to let a woman stay outside alone in the cold.” Grog sounds stern, his voice carrying a hint of Pike.   
  
“Okay, then we try,” Keyleth says. “If we don’t both fit inside the tent, then we’ll both sleep outside. That’s the only fair end to this.”   
  
Grog looks her up and down, and Keyleth wonders for a moment if he thinks her incapable of doing it.   
  
“Deal,” he says instead, holding out his hand to her, just like in the parking lot just a few hours earlier. “Now, one last lesson for the night. No toilet, what do you do?”   
  
Keyleth thinks back for a moment.   
  
“Shovel. Dig a hole, do what you have to, then bury it so animals won’t smell it and other people don’t have to see or even step in it.”   
  
“Then you find a place for that while I carry the rest.”   
  
“Sure you don’t need help with that?”   
  
Grog’s only answer is to flex his muscles, and Keyleth turns away before he can see her blush in the last rays of the sun.   
  
“Got it.”   
  
-   
  
Half an hour later, Grog’s got the portable stove burning, a pan on top with a steak sizzling in it.   
  
“How cooked do you want it?” He asks her, moving the piece of meat to add some mushrooms Keyleth had insisted on adding when he’d told her about the stakes he’d already purchased.   
  
“Medium rare,” she says, and apparently that surprises him based on the way he looks at her. “What?”   
  
“Nothin’. You don’t strike me as someone who likes a bloody steak is all.”   
  
“I get that a lot. You know, a lot of people think I don’t eat meat? Just based on the way I look and dress. That’s like thinking you never eat vegetables cause you have big muscles, but you know you need a balanced diet to be healthy. We humans were made to be omnivores, which means we eat both meat and greens. I think a lot of people don’t know or care about that.”   
  
“Yeah, people are weird,” Grog says, stirring the mushrooms, then moving the contents of the pan over to a plate. “Here.”   
  
“Oh, I can wait, you eat first.”   
  
“Don’t like mushrooms.” He puts the plate down next to her, using some paper to wipe the juices out of the pan before putting in his own steak.   
  
“I would’ve told you to cook yours first if I’d known that,” Keyleth says, picking up the cutlery he hands her. “That way you wouldn’t have the flavour left in the pan. Can you even survive in the forest if you don’t like mushrooms?”   
  
Grog just shakes his head.   
  
“Don’t cut the meat yet, you gotta let it rest so it don’t go dry. And,” he adds, “I figured you haven’t eaten much today, so you need food more than I do right now. I can wait a few minutes.”   
  
Keyleth moves to get her sleeping bag from within the tent, crawling into it before sitting down on the log, plate of food next to her.   
  
She tilts her head back as she waits, letting her eyes get used to the darkening sky, trying to spot any stars but it’s too early for that yet. So she closes the, breathing in the scent of nature, food and gas.   
  
“It’s not too different from when I was young. We had a bonfire instead, camped inside the forest and always had marshmallows, but other than that it feels like all those years ago.”   
  
There’s a rustle, and when she opens her eyes again, Keyleth sees Grog hold up a large bag of marshmallows in one hand and a knife in the other.   
  
“Here,” he says, holding the knife out to her, the blade pointing towards himself. “If you find something suitable, you can carve some sticks to roast them on.”   
  
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of grabbing a bag of those myself, thank you Grog!” She grins, resisting the urge to give him a hug.    
  
She knows he accepts hugs from Pike and Wilhand, but unlike herself, Grog is never the one to initiate physical contact, except from when teaching requires a hands on approach, like with the tent, or the time he taught her the basics of boxing a couple years ago, not too long after she’d moved to Grayskull.    
  
“Dinner first,” he says, eyes glinting in the low light, and she can’t help but laugh at the teasing tone of his voice.   
  
“I bet you heard that a lot growing up,” she says, laughter coating her voice.   
  
“Still do.”   
  
“From Pike?”   
  
“And Scanlan,” Grog replies.   
  
“Oh, he is such a hypocrite! I want to say I can’t believe he tells you to wait when he won’t himself, but I actually can.”   
  
“Scanlan is good at that. It’s those words of his.”   
  
“Well, who needs his words? We have our own, don’t we Grog? And we’re doing just fine, right?. Now, let’s see if you’re as good at cooking a steak as you are at pitching a tent.”   
  
It turns out, in fact, that he is. It’s cooked to perfection, as are the mushrooms, which she finds surprising since he doesn’t eat them himself. Grog doesn’t have anything to eat besides his own steak, and Keyleth wonders if he’ll have enough to eat, as she knows he originally bought both for himself.   
  
“Here,” she says, handing the second half of her steak to Grog who’s finished eating already. “You can have that.”   
  
“You need food too,” he says, trying to place it back on her plate.   
  
“Yes, and I’ve eaten. You know I don’t eat that much at once and besides,” she says, patting the bag of marshmallows, “I need room for a bunch of these as well. So, you eat that, while I go looking for something I can use for these.”   
  
She doesn’t wait for an answer, grabbing her phone and turning on the flashlight before heading towards the edge of the woods.   
  
It doesn’t take her long to find something suitable, but Keyleth is on edge the whole time, keeping an ear out for any movement of possible predators. As soon as she finds two suitable twigs, she walks quickly back towards their small camp and begins to whittle away until she’s made a sharp point on both and removed the bark far enough down to fit three marshmallows on each.   
  
“Here,” she says, handing one over to Grog before tearing the bag open.   
  
Impatient, she pops one into her mouth, before threading three on the stick and holding it over the small flame. The first gets burnt, as she’s not used to this kind of flame, only having done it over bonfires.   
  
“I think we need to buy more at the next store we pass by,” she says some minutes later, when it feels like her stomach holds more marshmallows than steak, but she doesn’t care. She’s not hungry, and more at ease than she has been in a long time.   
  
In fact, Grog ends up supporting her the few feet to the tent as she feels dead on her feet from the exhaustions of the day.   
  
“G’nigh Grog,” she manages to whisper as she crawls into the tens.   
  
Moments later she’s fast asleep, dreaming of starry pictures in the sky.


End file.
